The Capitol, Washington, D.C.

Eight students will present their documentary on how Hillsdale College secured its right to refuse federal aid at 7 p.m. on April 19 in Plaster Auditorium. 

Hillsdale College started opposing government funding in the 1960s. The documentary is this semester’s project for the documentary filmmaking course, taught by adjunct instructor Buddy Moorehouse.

Many people believe it was a simple decision not to accept federal aid, but the case went to the United States Supreme Court, Moorehouse said. 

“I doubt it will surprise most of the audience that Hillsdale chose the path that it did,” said sophomore Sarah Katherine Sisk, a student in the filmmaking class. “But I think they will be interested to learn more about why Hillsdale succeeded in legally maintaining its freedom, while other institutions did not.” 

Moorehouse said the documentary is called “The Price of Independence: How Hillsdale College Chose Freedom From Federal Control.” 

A generous donation will allow the students to travel to Washington, D.C., to collect footage for the film and interview the attorney who represented Hillsdale’s case, John Facciola. Moorehouse said Facciola is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and remembers the case well. 

“In the 1960s, Hillsdale was borrowing money from a local pharmacist just to make payroll,” Moorehouse said. “That’s right around the same time that the federal government decided they were going to start giving money to colleges and universities.”

Moorehouse said when the government started offering colleges loans and grants, universities were subject to federal rules and regulations. 

“There was a really heated debate that took place among the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees as to whether or not they should take this free money that the government was offering, or whether they should stick to their principles and remain free,” Moorehouse said. 

Along with Facciola, the students will interview Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn and several alumni who were students during the time of the lawsuits, Sisk said. 

The documentary showing is free and open to the community. 

“It is a privilege that the eight of us have the opportunity to tell this story,” Sisk said. “We will do everything in our power to tell it well.”

Moorehouse said anyone who loves Hillsdale College will love the film.